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1991 Portuguese Grand Prix
| poletime = 1:13.001 | fastestlap = 1:18.179 | fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell | fastestlapnation = GBR | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 43 | winner = Riccardo Patrese | winnernation = ITA | winnerteam = | second = Ayrton Senna | secondnation = BRA | secondteam = | third = Jean Alesi | thirdnation = FRA | thirdteam = }} The was the thirteenth race of the 1991 Formula One Season, held at the Estoril circuit. Used by many Grand Prix teams over the winter, the Estoril circuit was well suited to the cars of 1991, and was expected to result in a titanic battle between and . Their battle, as it happened was fought in qualifying, as Riccardo Patrese cruised to victory in his Williams, after team mate Nigel Mansell was disqualified for a pitlane infringement. Championship leader Ayrton Senna claimed second to extend his lead in the title battle, while Jean Alesi forced his way onto the final spot on the podium. Background Despite the ongoing rumblings in the background after Michael Schumacher's move to Benetton, there was little of note produced by the F1 paddock during the break between Italy and Portugal. Only one change was made to the entry list, as Johnny Herbert returned from his latest Formula 3000 commitments to replace Michael Bartels at Team Lotus. Italy had seen the elimination of all but two in the title battle, as Ayrton Senna held a lead of eighteen points over Nigel Mansell in second. With 40 points left to fight for, and Riccardo Patrese only holding 34 to his name to Senna's 77, the title was to be fought between the leading duo leaving Patrese and Gerhard Berger with little more to do than aid their respective team mates to the title. Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet looked set to battle for fifth until the end of the season, while Schumacher seemed well on his way to being the best of the rookies, despite only competing in his third race in Portugal. The Constructors Championship was also now a tale of two teams, as Ferrari slipped out of the 64 point margin they needed in order to keep their title hopes alive. and were therefore left to duke it out in the closing stages of the season, with McLaren holding a fifteen point advantage coming into Portugal. Benetton, meanwhile, were trying to take third away from the Italian team, leaving Jordan to try to hold onto their incredible fifth place , despite it being their début year. Entry List The full entry list for the is shown below: Practice Overview Qualifying As with the majority of the 1991 season, the saw the use of pre-qualifying to satisfy the FIA's latest safety drive. The maximum limit for cars on any circuit at any time had been set at 30, meaning that 4 cars had to be removed from the weekend running. Eight drivers were therefore made to battle it out for four spots in the full qualifying session, based on their performance from the previous half season. Brabham, AGS, Fondmetal, Coloni and Footwork were the entrants who made up the session after the 1991 German Grand Prix. Pre-Qualifying Brabham had managed to qualify from every pre-qualifying session they had competed in in 1991, and continued that trend in style, as Mark Blundell and Martin Brundle lapped Estoril just half a tenth apart to finish one-two. Gabriele Tarquini got through in his AGS (a mean feat given recent form), joined by the #9 Footwork of Michele Alboreto. The four drivers relegated from the weekend were Fabrizio Barbazza, Alex Caffi, Oliver Grouillard and Pedro Chaves, the latter two unknowingly making their last appearance in 1991. Report The first quali session was massively in favour of , as Gerhard Berger stunned many by beating Ayrton Senna by over half a second. Nigel Mansell claimed third, as Riccardo Patrese struggled, before blowing up his engine at the start of the second session on Saturday. Yet, in the spare which had Mansell's set up, Patrese pulled out an unbelievable time to take pole from Berger in the dying embers of the session. Ferrari, meanwhile, were left in their now familiar third row lock out, ahead of the impressive Leyton House cars, Pierluigi Martini and Michael Schumacher. Both Brabhams made it safely through to the race, Blundell the better placed of the two in fifteenth, as Alboreto managed to force his way onto the grid for the first time since the 1991 British Grand Prix. Tarquini's weekend was ended as he failed to qualify, joined by who lost out to team mate Aguri Suzuki in their Lola battle. The two s were also eliminated, the pair setting the slowest times of both sessions. Full Qualifying Results The final result for the is outlined below: Grid The starting grid for the is outlined below: Race So, a tight qualifying session had resulted in the two wingmen of the title contenders on the front row, although Ayrton Senna still held an advantage over Nigel Mansell by starting third. Mansell described this as the best result for fans, but not for him, although he resolved to fight his way past his rival and try to win.'Formula 1 Grand Prix: 1991 Season Review - Part 13 - Race Thirteen: Portugal', youtube.com, (YouTube, 14/04/2013), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t7TcWld8Aw, (Accessed 16/08/2015) Nonetheless, with the sun beating down on the circuit, the race was set to start at 14:00 local time. Report Off the line, it was Riccardo Patrese who made the best start, leaping into the lead of the race. Mansell also made a good start, allowing his car to swerve in front of Senna and forcing the Brazilian to take avoiding action. Senna darted to the opposite side of the track, handing him the inside line through the first corner, although Mansell had enough confidence and momentum to sweep along the outside of the World Champion and take second. He then made it a double move, as he darted up the inside of Gerhard Berger into turn two, emerging in second behind Patrese. The two Williams retained their positions for the time being, working together to build a gap large enough for Patrese to allow Mansell past without losing time. Senna, meanwhile, was being hounded by the fast starting Jean Alesi, who beat team mate Alain Prost off the line, although the Sicilian was unable to force his way through. At the end of lap 18, Mansell and Patrese swapped places, with the Italian allowing the Brit to build a lead over the following laps, with McLaren unable to keep pace.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: PORTUGUESE GP, 1991', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 1999), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr513.html, (Accessed 16/08/2015) The stops began with Senna, whose pit crew then set about completing a then record five second tyre change when the Brazilian came in from fourth. A lap later and Mansell was in from the lead, although Williams could not match the slick work of their rivals. This was proven when Mansell pulled out of the pitbox, only to have his right rear wheel spin off the back of his car, leaving him stranded in the middle of the pitlane. His mechanics rushed to the car, two slipping (and this time) tightening the right rear wheel, while another group held the back of the car up. Mansell was back in the race, but Williams had broken countless rules in order for him to do so. Mansell was left to fight back from seventeenth, as Senna released Berger (whom he had overtaken in the stops) to attack Patrese. The fight was not to come, however, as the Honda engine in the back of Berger's McLaren gave up the ghost, as did Prost's a few laps later. Alesi was now promoted to third, but as under pressure from Pierluigi Martini and Ivan Capelli behind, the Sicilian waving furiously at Martin Brundle as they came to lap him after the Brit had blocked him coming into the main straight. Mansell, meanwhile, was making impressive progress through the field, and took sixth away from Andrea de Cesaris on lap 49, before taking Capelli for fifth on lap 50. But, a lap later the Brit was disqualified, the FIA ultimately excluding him as his team had worked on the car in an illegal area (i.e. out side the pitbox). The race, by this stage, was winding down, with Senna unable to catch the ever elusive Patrese and Alesi now able to gap the Minardi behind. The only action to be had involved the Benettons, whose late race pace allowed Nelson Piquet to take sixth in the closing stages, with Michael Schumacher just behind. There was to be no last lap drama in Portugal, as Patrese earned a fifth career victory, while Senna extended his Championship lead (and was almost home and dry) by finishing second. Alesi claimed third ahead of Martini, while Piquet and Schumacher completing the points, after Capelli slammed himself into the barrier with seven laps to go. But the big story was about Mansell, who was almost out of the title fight after Williams' mistake, the Brit now 24 points behind, with 30 left to fight for. Results The final results for the are shown below: ** Capelli was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *†Mansell was disqualified for a pitlane infringement, although his fastest lap still stood. Milestones *Fifth career victory for Riccardo Patrese. *Last entry for Pedro Chaves. *Olivier Grouillard's last entry for Fondmetal. Standings Ayrton Senna left Estoril with a 24 point advantage over Nigel Mansell, with only 30 left as the season approached its climax. The Brazilian only had to finish fifth in the three remaining races in order to take the title, and even then, Mansell would have to win all three outright to beat him. Patrese], meanwhile, had seemingly secured thired, with Gerhard Berger thirteen behind, while Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost swapped places once again. and 's duel for the Constructors' crown became ever tighter with three races to go, as the gap closed to eleven points. Ferrari, meanwhile, pulled a small gap from Benetton to establish themselves in third, while Jordan remained in the top five. The only position change was down in seventh, where jumped ahead of after Pierluigi Martini's strong result. References Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Portuguese Grand Prix Category:1991 Grands Prix